Motions on school funding and Estyn proposed by NAHT Cymru and passed by Wales TUC Congress

Today (Tuesday 25 May 2021) at the Wales TUC Congress, two motions proposed by school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru as part of its campaign agenda to bring fair funding and transparency to the education sector, were backed by gathered trade union delegates.

The motions, proposed by NAHT Cymru president Kerina Hanson and NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel, call firstly for a review of the education consortia, to ensure value for money, and secondly for fairness and transparency in Estyn inspections by calling for an independent commission to be established to handle Estyn complaints. NAHT Cymru also seconded a motion by NEU Cymru calling for additional funding for Covid recovery.

Speaking at congress this morning, on school funding and the consortia, NAHT Cymru director Laura Doel said:

“Over a decade of austerity has left schools struggling to manage its finances and keep up with the needs of learners. While we must continue to push for a better funding settlement for education in Wales, now more than ever, we need to carefully look at education spending to ensure the little money we do have is spent where it will have the greatest impact on learners.

“When schools are cut to the bone, when there is nothing more to cut from the education budget, when we will need more money to employ more staff to support Covid recovery, can we really afford the additional layer of a middle tier of education governance?

“We must have a review that looks at the role of the consortia in the wider context of the education system, to ensure their roles and responsibilities are valid and not duplicated elsewhere in the system.

“Does a nation with the population of Greater Manchester really need such a costly additional tier to succeed? Or would that £28m spend on consortia in one year alone have been better spent on 840 additional teachers, 1,500 teaching assistants or more than 2,000 additional support staff?

“Schools are a team and now is not the time to bench any players just to balance the books.”

Speaking to the motion to establish an independent commission to hear Estyn complaints, NAHT Cymru President Kerina Hanson said:

“This motion aims to bring transparency to ensure a fair, appropriate, and safe inspection process.

“A school has little opportunity to challenge the outcome of an inspection. The current process consists of an informal resolution, an investigation by Estyn itself, and finally, if the issue remains unresolved, a referral to the Public Service Ombudsman. None of these stages supports a thorough independent investigation, and does not allow complaints or challenges about inspection judgements to be considered after an Estyn inspection or review.

“NAHT Cymru believes this is entirely unfair and lacks openness and transparency. Inspection reports are public documents that we know are of significant public interest. We feel, therefore, that schools should be better able to challenge the process if they believe the outcome to be unfair, inaccurate or untrue.

“We believe that establishing an independent commission to deal with complaints would bring transparency, fairness and safety to the process. The usual checks, balances and confidentiality would remain in place as with all complaint’s procedures. We consider that an independent inspection review panel would nurture the confidence of our members, their school communities and that of the wider public.”

The full text of the motions are as follows:

Estyn – NAHT Cymru believes the current arrangements for appealing Estyn inspections fail to provide a fair and transparent process. Appeals go to Estyn directly who polices its own complaints, with a last resort being to refer the matter to the Public Service Ombudsman. NAHT Cymru does not believe this is a fair or appropriate mechanism and calls on General Council to campaign to establish an independent inspection review panel in Wales to whom every complaint against Estyn is referred for consideration.

Consortia – Education in Wales continues to suffer from a funding crisis. Recent reports commissioned by the Welsh Government highlight the inconsistencies in the funding formulae leading to huge variations in money allocated to schools. Given the situation, NAHT Cymru believes that we need to look carefully of how money earmarked for education is spent, particularly when it comes to school improvement. NAHT Cymru is calling on Congress to support a review of the role of the middle tier, ensuring the consortia model demonstrates value for money and has a clear role and responsibility within the education system.